Stone Temple Pilots at Summerfest...and other updates

I didn't really plan on posting today.

One of the reasons I generally post little nowadays is because of either a lack of time or energy, both of which I am equally lacking tonight after pulling a 4-hour midday shift in the warehouse at work today (I'm normally a cubicle drone so pardon me if it's a bit of a shock to my system when we get pulled out into the warehouse to help sweat and fill orders). Regardless, I was breezing around the blogs tonight waiting for the broccoli cheese soup to finish warming, catching up on what I missed at two of my favorite blogs, Muzzle of Bees and Aquarium Drunkard, and it made me miss dropping in for my once-daily posts here at Veritas Lux Mea.

If you haven't had a chance yet, or have been out of the blogosphere as of late like me, you need to head over to Aquarium Drunkard and check out Marty's interview with The National lead singer Matt Berninger. Marty's a great writer to begin with, but getting to interview a guest like VLM fave Berninger is a completely delicious read.

Both Muzzle of Bees and Aquarium Drunkard recently reviewed the Hold Steady's latest effort as well, Stay Positive, so make sure you catch both their reviews of that. Haven't had an opportunity to listen to the record yet but I've become more of a Hold Steady fan in the past year so I am certainly planning on giving it some due time on the iPod. While at Muzzle of Bees make sure to enter for the Pitchfork Music Festival 3 day pass giveaway Ryan is hosting with Boost Mobile.

Stone Temple Pilots/Frank Black at Summerfest


As far as things go with us here at Veritas Lux Mea, we recently caught the Stone Temple Pilots and Frank Black at Milwaukee's Summerfest on the 4th of July and were quite pleased with the evening's performances. It was a shame that Frank Black, playing as Black Francis, didn't get the love from the crowd he should have (I remember hearing one guy shout "get off the stage, old man" during a song, and another time having to tell a girl who he was), but he played a pretty killer set of tracks off his album and didn't seem to let the lack of crowd get him down.

The Scott Weiland show went on without much fanfare if you don't count Scott's incoherent ramblings between songs, weird interaction with two sailors, or diminishing wardrobe as the performance went on. Stone Temple Pilots played a pretty hit-heavy set, which was a pleasant surprise to Felicia and I, who were able to hear all of our STP favorites from way-back when.

As Ryan stated, "It was certainly fun to watch as the band launched into each selection and waiting for the crowd’s collective memory to be jolted and recognize exactly what song they were hearing, no doubt transporting them right back to the early 90’s as well." An evening of nostalgia, indeed.

Ryan was no doubt part of the massive crowd that was gathered to catch The Roots performance as we tried to make our way off the Summerfest grounds after the STP performance, but we didn't stick around to catch the grooves. We did however get to catch a nerdy looking white kid crumping for a large group of black girls (who were near hysterical with laughter because of this kid) near the exit on our way out, which just may have been the most memorable part of the entire evening.

Toadies to play The Annex July 31


As if we needed more 90's nostalgia...our next, um, public appearance will be at the Toadies concert in Madison July 31st at The Annex. We're hoping to hear Vaden Todd Lewis belt out some of our favorites off of Rubberneck and Hell Below/Stars Above while enjoying the tightly knit rock ambiance of The Annex (and a few PBRs, no doubt).

In a recent interview with the San Antonio Current, Lewis said “I think the audience is still there...Real music fans are so put off by what’s been foisted on them for so long and shoved down their throat on radio, so they’re looking elsewhere.” While I think indie music has done much for those who were put off by pop radio's Top 40, there is something nostalgic (there's that word again) in rocking out the same songs you partied to as a teen (it was that long ago?).

Hopefully, the tour will spark some success for the Toadies' upcoming release, No Deliverance, which is set to drop August 19.

Toadies - "Away"

Stream "No Deliverance" from the Toadies upcoming release of the same title at Spin.com.

For the Love of the Game

Brett Favre, 1980

Last thing I want to mention before I retire for the evening to watch the MLB All-Star Game is that this Favre stuff is getting ridiculous. I've been a lifelong Packers fan, and a Favre fan since he came aboard, but I'll be pretty embarrassed donning my Favre jersey this football season if this charade doesn't come to a happy ending. If you ask me, the Favre era is over in Green Bay. If I walk in tomorrow and quit my job and then call six months later and say I want it back, there's no reason for them to even listen to me. What makes Brett Favre any different other than he's Brett Favre? That sort of idea has never made it in Green Bay, and that sort of idea is exactly what the Packers franchise hasn't been since it's inception. It's just sad to see the franchise's greatest modern day icon making Green Bay look like just another pro football franchise.